ABSTRACT
Melioidosis, caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, is an uncommon infection that is typically associated with exposure to soil and water in tropical and subtropical environments. It is rarely diagnosed in the continental United States. Patients with melioidosis in the United States commonly report travel to regions where melioidosis is endemic. We report a cluster of four non-travel-associated cases of melioidosis in Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, and Texas. These cases were caused by the same strain of B. pseudomallei that was linked to an aromatherapy spray product imported from a melioidosis-endemic area.
Subject(s)
Aromatherapy/adverse effects , Burkholderia pseudomallei/isolation & purification , Disease Outbreaks , Melioidosis/epidemiology , Aerosols , Brain/microbiology , Brain/pathology , Burkholderia pseudomallei/genetics , COVID-19/complications , Child, Preschool , Fatal Outcome , Female , Genome, Bacterial , Humans , Lung/microbiology , Lung/pathology , Male , Melioidosis/complications , Middle Aged , Phylogeny , Shock, Septic/microbiology , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
We characterized common exposures reported by a convenience sample of 202 US patients with coronavirus disease during January-April 2020 and identified factors associated with presumed household transmission. The most commonly reported settings of known exposure were households and healthcare facilities; among case-patients who had known contact with a confirmed case-patient compared with those who did not, healthcare occupations were more common. Among case-patients without known contact, use of public transportation was more common. Within the household, presumed transmission was highest from older (>65 years) index case-patients and from children to parents, independent of index case-patient age. These findings may inform guidance for limiting transmission and emphasize the value of testing to identify community-acquired infections.